Kukla's Korner Hockey

It’s one step forward and two steps back for the Stars, who ended their three-game California road trip with a 3-2 shootout loss to the Los Angeles Kings and might lose their captain for the next game.

Sticking up for teammate Mike Ribeiro, who was knocked into the boards by Kings forward Dustin Brown, Morrow started a fight with Brown and received an instigator penalty in the final five minutes of a game….

Ribeiro was in a shooting position when Brown hit him, and Ribeiro flew into the boards and hit his head. He received stitches over his left eye, but did return to the game and made an incredible goal to help extend the shootout.

The NHL has rescinded both the automatic one-game suspension to Brenden Morrow and the $10,000 fine to Dallas Stars head coach Dave Tippett.

Morrow received an instigator penalty in the final five minutes of the game when he fought Kings forward Dustin Brown after Brown hit Stars forward Mike Ribeiro into the boards.

added 9:24am, from Helene Elliott of the LA Times,

Brown didn’t consider his hit dirty.

“I don’t think they called a penalty originally. I think they called it after he was hurt,” said Brown, who had given the Kings a 2-1 lead at 16 minutes 46 seconds of the first period on a sharp-angle shot.

“He’s spinning around. I’m going to finish that hit. It’s unfortunate that he went into the boards. He was spinning as I was hitting him. He was trying to make a play on that. I’m finishing my check. If that’s five more feet in the neutral zone, he’s knocked down and we’re going to overtime.”